Ready for sprawling aisles of Microsoft stuff, a guru bar, and giant wall-sized screens? The first store in Scottsdale, Arizona is receiving its final touches, and may open on, or just after Oct 22, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The paper says the Scottsdale store will look just like the freaky fake shop Microsoft built on its Redmond campus back in January. Also, a second store in Mission Viejo, California is expected to follow in the immediate weeks after.

And Apple isn't the only inspiration. The Microsoft stores will also be close to either a Best Buy or Wal-Mart. Oh, and the Microsoft store head-honcho was actually poached from Wal-Mart. I think I was more optimistic when I heard they were head-hunting Apple Store staff. [Wall Street Journal]